


Wrapped Up In The Present

by d0g-bless (d0gbless)



Series: A New Breed of Training [17]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas Eve, F/M, First Christmas, Gen, Kid Fic, Next Generation, Post-Canon, Post-Series, Shidgemas 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 11:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17021532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d0gbless/pseuds/d0g-bless
Summary: In which the Shirogane-Holts celebrate their daughter's first Christmas Eve.





	Wrapped Up In The Present

**Author's Note:**

> Shidgemas Day 1: **First** / ~~Tradition~~

Halley _loved_ this time of year.

To be fair, Halley loved a lot of things: Metalpaw, Peanut, and Puppy – a nifty combination of “pup” and the end of whatever Peanut and Metalpaw called their pup, which sounded awfully close to her own name.

But this time of year, winter, was the best. The Arizona heat cooled into a more palatable temperature for the thick coat of a Great Pyrenees such as herself.

Winter, for some reason or another, made the world a kinder place. Peanut turned a blind eye to Metalpaw slipping treats to her beneath the table. If Halley was lucky enough, Peanut would even give her something from her flat human bowl!

This year was special, though, thanks to the newest addition of her family. It would be Puppy’s first time smelling all the new smells permeating the air: Pine trees, peppermint, and fried chicken! Best of all, Halley was going to show her as much as she could.

Halley sat below the kitchen table, just where Puppy’s hind paws would be if she were fully grown like her parents. The little creature kicked her onesie-covered feet, as if she was trying to take a pair of shoes off. A little foot grazed Halley’s ear, but the dog paid Puppy no mind. She sat and waiting, knowing if she stayed, Puppy would drop something good. She always did.

Shiro wiggled a spoon in front of his daughter. “Open the hatch. Food lion coming through! _Nyoom_!” That sound effect pulled a dimpled smile out of Sammy, one wide enough that Shiro could slip in a tiny piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken he’d cut up straight from the KFC bucket. “What do you think? Is it yummy?”

Her eyes lit up with delight as she chewed. God, she looked so much like her mom. When she’d finished that piece, she reached out to Shiro, presumably demanding more.

Shiro laughed. “It must be pretty good if you want more.” He cut up another bite-sized piece from the chicken breast on his plate and scooped it in her wide-open mouth, sound effects and all, and waited for Sammy to chew, then swallow.

Cut, spoon, lion, _nyoom_ , sneak, chew, swallow. Shiro repeated the process until Sammy shoved the spoon aside with her hand, forcing the chicken on it to splatter on the ground.

Just as Halley predicted, Puppy dropped something good. She gobbled up the chicken in seconds. Delicious! Sensing Puppy was satiated, Halley meandered into the living room, where Peanut knelt near a giant decorated pine tree, talking to someone over the phone. Poor Peanut smelled sweaty and stressed out. More than usual, too.

“The gifts you got for Sammy was really thoughtful, Mom. It’s just that the onesie you got her is way too big for her. We’re feeding her as much as she’ll eat. Of course she’s getting fruits and veggies in! She’s just going to be smaller than most kids her age. No, she — she is _not_ falling behind.” A sigh. “I know you mean well, I really do. It’s fine, Mom. Really. Tell you what, I’ll send you photos and videos from tonight. A family photo? That’s pushing it, but I’ll see what I can do.” A pause. “Have fun at the cabin. I miss seeing snow, so you take pictures for me, alright? Alright. Love you, Mom. Tell Matt I said hi. Okay, bye.” _Beep._

Pidge collapsed back onto the carpet, only to find herself staring up into Shiro’s concerned gaze. Despite his concern, he still managed to keep cool enough to bounce Sammy on his hip. Pidge rolled over to her stomach with a groan. “Just leave me here until I’ve become one with the floor.”

Halley, unfamiliar with such a command, nudged Pidge’s hand with her cold wet nose.

“I can’t do let you do that. Not on Sammy’s first Christmas Eve.” Readjusting his hold on Sammy, he lowered himself, ignoring popping joints or signs that he was even slightly out of shape or — God forbid — getting old. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” she mumbled into the carpet.

“Says the person who wants to become one with the floor.”

“Mom’s worried about Sammy, that’s all.”

Shiro arched a brow.

Pidge lifted her head high enough to remove her glasses and put on her best Colleen Holt imitation: “You need to take Sammy to a specialist. She hardly responds to her name. When you were Sammy’s age, you were already forming sentence fragments. You would encourage your brother to do all sorts of things with a cackle and a ‘Matt, yes!’”

“That’s—” Shiro paused in search of a word. “—terrifying?”

“It’s just… _Argh!_ I don’t expect you to understand. It’s just, not to brag, but I’m sort of a genius—”

“Not sort of, you are a genius.” Sammy reached a chubby hand out to her mother. “See, even Sammy thinks so, too.”

Rather than beam at the praise, Pidge withered up like a sickly plant. “I think my mom expects Sammy to be a genius, too. Like it’s a Holt thing. But you know, maybe she’s right. Sammy hasn’t said a word except for babbling sounds. She crawls and stuff, which is good, but… there are things she hasn’t done yet and she should have done, and maybe that means she does need help… and it’s all my fault.”

“Well, I’m no genius, but if it helps, I know that Shiroganes can be a bit slower and steadier. It took me a bit longer to walk than most toddlers, but eventually, I did it. But you know, maybe we should just try to enjoy the present? She’s not going to be crawling and babbling forever.”

Pidge managed a smile. “Yeah, I guess so.” She forced herself to sit up straight. “And since we’re on the subject of the present, we should probably let Sammy open some of her gifts.” She transferred Sammy from Shiro’s arms and settled her into a sitting position on her lap. “How’s that sound?”

“Did you? Did you just make a _pun_?”

“ _Anyways_ ,” Pidge said, reaching for a box within a short arm’s reach. “I want Sammy to open your present first. That way she can be blown away by mine and how much cooler it is.”

Shiro puffed out his chest and flashed a smile that radiated confidence. He pulled a section of his white forelock out of his eyes. “Fine, but I don’t want to miss out on her loving my gift… and the look on your face when she doesn’t like yours nearly as much.”

Pidge set the box in front of Sammy.

It was then when Halley’s livestock guardian instincts kicked in. What if that weird looking cube was dangerous? Halley plopped herself directly across from the box and Puppy, which was nearly as tall as a sitting Puppy. She inspected with several audible sniffs and her tongue. She barked her approval. It’s safe!

Silver wrapping paper glimmered before Sammy’s wide-eyed gaze. “Oooooh.” She patted the shiny box with both her hands. “Ooooooooh.”

“If you think that’s pretty, wait until you see what’s inside.” Shiro tore off the wrapping paper and handed it to a slack-jawed Sammy.

“Wow, he got you a box! What a great gift. I hope whatever he got me is just as amazing as that cardboard cube!”

Shiro feigned a scowl, though he struggled _not_ to smile at Pidge’s terrible joke. “I did _not_ get you a box.” He opened up the cardboard flaps and held its contents out to Sammy: A Lady plushie from _Lady and the Tramp._ Tied around its neck was a little note.

“What’s this?” Pidge asked. She read the note aloud: “For Sammy, my beautiful little lady.”

 _Rrrrrrip! Rrrrrip! Rrrrrrrrrip!_ Sammy giggled as she tore up the wrapping paper scraps Shiro had given her not even a minute ago.

“You tried,” Pidge said. “And I’ll admit, that’s a thoughtful gift, especially considering this is from someone who only saw that movie once and probably missed the ending because he proposed to me.”

“And it might’ve been the night she was conceived.”

Mild disgust contorted Pidge’s face. “Yup, that’s what every kid wants to know and have: Something that reminds them of the time their parents created them.”

Shiro felt his ears burn. “At least she’s not old enough to remember us having this conversation.”

“Maybe that’s the greatest gift of all.” Pidge snorted. “Actually, it’s going to be what I got her.”

He plopped Pidge’s gift in front of Sammy with a defeated sigh. _She doesn’t **hate** my gift, at least._ This box was thin and flat. Clothes, maybe? Sure, Pidge hated shopping for clothes, but maybe that was only for herself. She had good taste whenever she found something for him, but it usually was when she was looking for something else entirely. “Okay, Sammy, let her rip!”

This time, Sammy had a better clue of what to do. She went for the paper, giggling and cackling like mad with each tear until there were only a few scraps on a bright colored box with a picture of a neon green and orange laptop.

“A laptop? You got her a laptop?” Unbelievable. “Didn’t we agree to set a price limit? She’s too young for a laptop.”

Pidge tapped her finger on the corner of the box. “Yeah, a _toy_ laptop for kids ages 10 months to 4 years. It makes sounds and lights up and stuff.” She emptied the box’s contents. As promised, it was indeed a small laptop that lit up and barked if you hit the letter D, complete with a picture of a dog, on the keyboard.

“Huh.”

Though the toy piqued Shiro’s interest, Sammy didn’t so much as bother to look at it. She wriggled off her mom’s lap and crawled under the tree to check out other wrapped boxes.

 _Rrrrip!_ Laughter. _Rrrrp!_ Giggles. _Rrrrp!_ A squeak followed by a delighted “Ooooh!”

Halley’s ears flicked toward the source of the squeaking sound: Puppy chomping on a recently unwrapped rubber screaming chicken toy. Halley sauntered over to Puppy, gently guiding her back to Metalpaw and Peanut with the gentle nudge of her nose.

“Sammy, no!” Pidge wheezed as she tried to catch her breath through laughter. “That’s for Halley!”

“Honestly, I’m not even surprised.” Shiro scooped up his wayward daughter back on to his lap. “Of course Sammy prefers wrapping paper and squeaky dog toys.”

Pidge wiped a tear from her eye. “Phew! We are not going to forget this, are we?”

“Nope.” Shiro grinned. “Think we’re going to have to tell everyone we had to return their gifts in exchange for wrapping paper?”

“Do I think that? Oh, no, I _know_ we’re going to.” Pidge finally caught her breath. “And Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for earlier. I needed to hear that.” Pidge leaned against Shiro’s side and cast her gaze to Sammy, who kept squeaking the toy. At least she was squeezing it with her hands and not her mouth. Guess they’d have to continue warning people she was a biter, or at least a baby who liked to explore with her mouth first. “I still can’t get over how much she looks like you.”

“She has the best of both of us, I think.”

Sammy yawned and leaned back into her father’s stomach. She stared up at him through heavy-lidded eyes she could barely keep open.

“Except that,” Pidge pointed out. “She falls asleep at a reasonable time and stays asleep.”

Shiro lifted Sammy up so her head rested on his shoulder. “Let’s enjoy it while it lasts. The present is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.”

Pidge bit back a comment about the pun or how sappy or stupidly handsome if not outright sexy he looked, tired but happy and content with his 11-month-old daughter passing out on his shoulder. Instead, she followed him to the nursery, where he laid Sammy down in her crib.

Normally, Shiro would read her a book or tell her a story about an adventure, but tonight, he settled on tucking her in and kissing her round rosy cheeks.

Pidge stroked Sammy’s waves of thick black hair. Sammy was going to have the worst bedhead on Christmas morning, that was for sure. “If you thought tonight was fun, Sammy, tomorrow is going to blow your little mind. Merry Christmas, Sammy.” She planted a kiss on Sammy’s temple, and together, she and Shiro left the room, feeling warm, happy, and as close to peace as they had in decades.


End file.
